Father Christmas is coming to Frome

FATHER Christmas will be returning to the streets of Frome in December with a little help from his friends at Frome Lions & Rotary clubs.

The float will be out on 17 days throughout December from Friday 1st to Friday 22nd before Santa heads off to Lapland to complete preparations for the big day on the 25th.

Santa’s helpers from Lions Club of Frome and Rotary Club of Frome will be collecting donations which will go to help deserving causes in and around Frome.

Santa says he was “very pleased” with his new float last year, and once again thanked the team at John Wainwright and Co for their work in providing the new vehicle. In particularly he said he is pleased that it enabled him to visit new roads inaccessible on his older float and the float’s impact on the environment has been greatly reduced.

Santa reminds all of the young children that he loves to receive your handwritten letters which can be posted in the post box on the float. Rest assured boys and girls that Father Christmas will, as usual, be reading all your letters in time for the delivery of presents, but please make sure you include your name and address so that Santa’s helpers can send a response to your letter.

Santa’s helpers say, “Father Christmas has asked the members of the Frome Lions and Rotary clubs to help him when he visits the residents of Frome and surrounding villages again this Christmas. We understand times are difficult and we appreciate any support that you can give and will make sure it is used to help those in our community who are in desperate need of support.

“Santa is very keen that we keep up with technology and this year we will have some collectors carrying contactless donation points. One great benefit is the ability to claim gift aid if you are a tax payer, which will increase your donation by 25% and make your generosity go further. These collectors will wear distinctive pink hi-vis jackets.”

Alan Glover, lead for the community committee of Rotary Club of Frome said, “The funds raised, which are split with the Lions, have all been used to support our Frome deserving causes account which have supported many groups, charities, families and individuals around Frome this year.”

Mike Geake of Lions Club of Frome said, “We are absolutely delighted to be able to run the float around Frome and surrounding villages again this year. We are planning to bring a heap of seasonal joy and excitement to brighten up everyone in the community as Christmas approaches.”

Mobile phone users can also donate by text. To donate text SANTAFROME and either 1,3,5,10 or 20 to 70085. In addition, there is a Just Giving web page, where donations can be made using the link to https://www.justgiving.com/campaign/santafrome23

To track Santas as he travels around Frome with his helpers, visit: https://glympse.com/!santafrome

Santa will be keeping you all informed of his outings and any updates on his dedicated Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/santafrome

Santa’s helpers added, “We will publish this link online and on Frome Rotary and Lions websites as well as all social media pages. Don’t forget that there will be times when there is no phone signal and the tracker may not be available but we expect most of the routes to be visible on the tracker.”